In Red Dust
by Memphiston
Summary: After the fiasco at the LSP's party and the graveyard, Marshall and Fionna's friendship has tread on rocky waters until a mission from Gumball calls them to work together. Tensions begin to break as the two finally voice the harsh, angry truth to one another, and they're forced to confront the emotions they have kept buried down for so long. WARNING: Later chapters contain lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Tension Oversalted

"I wonder what it is Gumball's called us over here for." Fionna said, leaning against one of the many gingerbread pillars of the Candy Kingdom Castle's main hall. She and Cake has been waiting for about a good ten minutes for the prince, lacking their usual excitement for an adventure or a task. Fionna had droned on many times about the tediousness and boredom of Gumball's missions, how they would usually compose of simple drop offs, collections, and body-guarding without a single sliver of danger or risk. Most of these missions never even went outside the Candy Kingdom, always confined to the safe, fluffy borders of the prince's familiar country.

Fionna imagined having to delivering packs of sugar out towards the outer settlements, or having to help him decorate for another special occasion or...oh Gob, getting the fluffy kids out of the thick-sap tree again. Fionna's face shrunk in at the thought, like she had just eaten a bad sour candy, before the sound of doors opening snapped her back to reality. Through the graham cracker doors emerged Gumball, clad in his usual puffed royal garbs with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Fionna! Cake! So nice to see you two again. Please come in, we have much to discuss!" Gumball's tone of voice always carried a sort of forced, obligatory fervor, as most royalty had always done, but this time his words were full with true, genuine excitement. Fionna and Cake followed him into what was Gumball's laboratory. Glowing beakers filled with strange concoctions, scribblings across a wall full of blackboards, and glass mazes with chemical trekkers all decorated the room. The neon curtain would only be broken up at the far side of the room, where the only window would reside. But not even that was free of the science web, as a large telescope had been attached to the side, allowing Gumball to stretch his eye across both the entire kingdom, and the stars whenever he got that astrological itch.

A lone "Wow..." escaped Fionna's lips as she marveled Gumball's technological playhouse, but the prince's words would once again break her wave of awe. "I'm glad you two came by today, I have something very important to show you." Gumball quickly made his way over to the telescope, reaching behind it to unclip and flip out a large screen, reminiscent of an oversized magnifying class. The view on the glass was currently a blurred mess of candy color, but began to twist and zoom as the prince piloted the scope. The image stretched out, passing all the castle towers, domiciles and defensive wall of the Candy Kingdom until it finally centered on a dark spot, deep within the surrounding woods. With the eye of the scope now in place, Gumball twisted one of his contraption's many dials, which sharpened the image on the screen. It showed a number of limp, willow-like trees, to which Fionna pursed her mouth and raised her brow.

"Trees? That...that's the mission?" Fionna's words rolled Cake's eyes as she mushed her paw into her friend's shoulder.

"No you dummeh! Look, it's behind the trees." Fionna squinted her eyes and finally caught it; the trees opened up their leafy curtains to reveal a deep, slitted cave. Fionna had never seen this cave before, and she took pride in being the living, breathing atlas of caves, dungeons, and overall secrets of Aaa.

"Yes, the Banana Guard discovered this cave a few days ago while on their nightly patrols of the border. But that's not the only interesting thing about it." Gumball reached down into his pocket and pulled out a collection of glowing red crystals. The light from them seemed to slowly pulse and dissipate as it flowed away, and Fionna and Cake gazed upon them with widened eyes.

"What is that stuff, Gumball? It's so...beautiful." Gumball placed the gems onto a small table beside him before turning to his blackboard, hands studiously clasped behind his back.

"To be honest I have absolutely no idea, Fionna. But the guards claim that it was scattered right at the entrance of the cave. I've compared it to every other element, form of energy, and precious metal my books had; this is something brand new, never seen before. I've run tests of these samples I've found and their make up is so transformable and viable, it can probably be used for anything. Energy, construction, defensive instrumentality...it's just incredible!" Gumball threw his arms into the air like a poor man striking gold, but they soon fluttered downward as he continued his explanation. "Unfortunately, I can't complete my research with just these little particles. But if I was able to get all of this from just a few specks of dust...imagine what a whole cave of these minerals could tell us?" Very rarely did Fionna ever catch Prince Gumball's giddy side, but at this moment it was beaming from the royal's young face.

"So you want us to clear out the cave of monsters, right!?" Fionna asked, eager for confirmation that her sword wouldn't spend the entire mission napping in its sheath. Gumball nodded almost immediately, his twiddling his fingers walking the two girls through the rest of his words.

"Oh yes, Gob knows what's lingering inside that place. I wouldn't be surprised if a Crystal Guardian was awaiting you there. Of course, this is you we're talking about, I'm sure you can handle it." Fionna grinned and blushed at the compliment, while Gumball set his gaze back through the telescope. "I'm also hoping you can bring back a bigger sample of rock for me to analyze."

"Why don't I just bring you the Crystal Giant's head?" Fionna joked, sparking a low-tone chortle from the candy prince.

"Well, that would make quite the mantle piece." Gumball smirked as he gazed deeply into the cave, wondering what gems and treasures lay behind its dark corridors. "This will be one amazing discovery Fionna, one for the books! I just can't wa-"

"HEY!" A blaring voice shouted as a veined monstrous eye leapt out onto the screen. Prince Gumball whipped backwards from fright, tumbling onto the ground with his chair in tow. A deep cackle soon followed, no doubt aimed at the prince's gobsmacked reaction. As the eye vanished off the screen and glass, Fionna and Cake ran to the window to see who had arrived.

It was Marshall Lee, pointing and laughing towards the window as the air cradled him. A hard scowl formed on Fionna's face as she laid eyes on the vampire, tossing up any chance to greet him as she tended to Gumball. After helping the prince to his feet, Fionna returned her sawing glance to Marshall, soon joined by both Cake and Gumball.

"What is he doing here?" The prince asked, his question peppered with annoyance and contempt. Marshall slipped through the space between the wall and the telescope, snatching Fionna's chance to respond.

"C'mon, Bubba. When there's talk of caves, villains and possible doom, you know I'm there." Gumball, with his arms crossed and eyes rolling, scoffed at the vampire's jest. Marshall continued. "Been listening in on your little huddle for a while now. I'm actually interested in that cave myself. It looks very...homey." Gumball's lip and forehead launched at one another as he gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow; Marshall was not going to just fly in and use his potential goldmine as a place to crash. The two royals locked eyes, one grinning, one growling.

"We have work to do in that cave Marshall. You can go and play squatter somewhere else until we're done. Maybe we'll let you have it once we've gathered what we need." Gumball's face had heated up as he tried to keep his royal cool. Marshall just smirked.

"You know Bubba, I've never seen you this red. It's kinda makin' me...hungry." The vampire king topped off his vague threat with a slither of his tongue. Gumball swiftly leapt backwards, never knowing if Marshall Lee was serious or not. This let Fionna come in to take his place in the stare-down.

"What do you want, Marshall?" The girl plainly asked. She wasn't in the mood for any of the vampire's attitude, especially after what had happened the last time they met. Still raw from the whole faking-death stunt, this would be the first time they had spoken since that night. Marshall recognized Fionna's seriousness and lightened up his joking tone.

"Relax guys, it's a little thing called a joke. I'm just out for a little fun, that's all. Aaa's been a bit lacking in the adventure department; this is the most exciting thing I've heard for the past three weeks." Fionna's brow swerved upward, deeply unsure of what Marshall was playing at. Then again, she never could predict anything involving Marshall; the boy was a floating, red-drinking firecracker. While Fionna was still angered at his past idiocy, she didn't want to turn him away like Gumball and Cake would. Plus even if she did, he'd probably shrug it off and follow them anyway. Fionna sighed and gave the vampire a push.

"Fine...just keep up and keep quiet and you can come." Marshall Lee nodded in mock understanding, wrapping his arms behind his head as he leant back.

"Keep up, definitely. Keep quiet...meh." Fionna didn't even respond, she just continued strolling, grasping Gumball's arm for him to come with. The lack of a reply sent a small unsettling wave towards Marshall's way, interrupted with the sudden arrival of Cake.

"You best watch what you say, honey. You're walkin' on eggshells." The cat gave Marshall a deep squinted glare, before marching past him to join Fionna, letting her tail swat the vampire's nose. Shooing the appendage away, Marshall looked on as Fionna, Cake, and Gumball all collected in their own little group, causing him to frown. This little interweaving normally wouldn't bother Marshall, they were friends, they huddle into small groups and chat away. But when coupled with Fionna's coldness and Cake's warning, it made him feel segregated. Maybe his latest bit of tricks may have been too much, even for Fionna and Cake.

* * *

After hacking out the curtain of vine and leaf, the group stopped right at the entrance of the cave. Resting her sword on her shoulder, Fionna took the first step towards the entrance. Gumball followed with the rest, the prince clad in some sort of silvery exoskeleton meant to protect his soft candy self. Reaching the wall, Fionna ran her thumb across the side of the rock and then examined her finger. It was painted with red shimmering dust. Quickly showing it to Gumball, he leaned and looked inside the cavern.

"Boy it's dark in there, looks like we're gonna need some of these." Gumball pressed a small button on his suit's gauntlet, which opened up a neighboring compartment to reveal a collection of orange neon light sticks, each about the size of a ruler. Tossing one to each of his companions, he returned his gaze to the cave entrance, which now appeared even more shadowed against the light of his torch. Something about the dark always put a chill into Prince Gumball's spine, no matter what the situation. But regardless, the prince knew the stakes of this journey and would not let some shade and rock scare him away. He threw his hand forward for the rest to follow him, descending into the hole.

* * *

"Geez, how did those bit of crystal make it all the way outside? We've been walking forever!" Fionna whined as she trudged through the dirt. The cave has just been a straight line for what appeared to be a mile, completely absent of any glow minus the ones from the neon torches. All they had to go on were more trails of red dust scribbled on the walls, and occasionally they would break and free-fall into the faces of the four, unleashing a barrage of rapid coughs and violent hacking.

"Maybe they got sick of all this rock and dark and decided to walk out. That's what I'm thinking of doing." Marshall commented as he lazily hung in the air behind everybody. Cake poked her head out from behind Fionna and spoke.

"Gumball, are you sure those crystals belong to this cave and we're maybe dropped by some passerby or were just blown in by the wind?" Gumball's hurried pace did not slow, even to give Cake an answer.

"I had the Banana Guard check the surrounding area for any other trace of the dust or caves it could have come from. This is the only place they had found, plus the particles I found were heavy for the wind to carry." Gumball turned to look at his team with that last add-on, catching full blast of their bored, doubtful faces.

"Hey guys, don't worry. We have to come across something soon. Remember, the hardest of work is always met with the greatest of rewards." Marshall didn't even try to hold back his chuckle.

"Psh, where'd you hear that wad of bunk, a fortune cookie?" Gumball shot the vampire a harsh glare; Marshall had hit it right on the head.

"You know, you'd be surprised how much wisdom fortune cookies hav-WHA!" Gumball's faceplate bashed into a wall, causing the prince to repeat his previous blunder of stumbling over his own feet. Pounding into the floor a cloud of dust ripped up from the ground, blinding them all in red and deafening them all with coughs. Gumball wobbled like an overturned turtle as his armor's weight and the narrowness of the cave worked together to keep him down. Marshall, being the first to wipe the dust away from his eyes, knelt down and grasped the back of Gumball's shoulder to push him up.

"You know, this tripping thing's starting to become a habit, Bub." The vampire jeered as he bought the prince right side up. Taking a second to get himself steady, Gumball wiped some of the dust off his visor and glimpse at what he had walked into.

It was the corner of a fork in the cave, jutting out towards the group like a worn out screw on a wall. Gumball leaned and gazed into the two paths, both being equally deep and equally dark. Turning to his friends he spoke.

"So...should we head left or go right?" Everyone leaned outward to check the caves, but nobody gave a single word. Finally, Gumball took control of the spotlight, bringing it down on the cat. "Cake, you have good senses, what do you think?" The feline took a few cautionary steps towards the left one, giving a few sniffs before slinking over to the right. Giving a long, deep inhale, Cake finally spoke.

"Hmm, I'm thinking the right one might be a good choice. It's got less dust blocking my scent." Fionna let out a small questionable "um" before slinking over to the left corridor.

"Wouldn't more dust mean that the crystals are closer in that direction, though?" Everyone just stared at her with blank faces. "What?" Fionna shrugged, the eyes all still unmoving. Sticking her head inside the cave for a better look, she continued to justify her sudden input. "I dunno, something tells me the left is the right way." Gumball's face finally molded itself out of ineptitude as he began to think on Fionna's suggestion.

"That does make sense. Hmm, this is very confusing. You know, maybe bringing my scanner wouldn't have been such a bad idea." Fionna palmed her forehead at Gumball's blunder, played in by the sighs of both Cake and Marshall. Gumball spun out, throwing his hands up into the air in urgency. "I would've had to let the scanner dissolve and analyze the crystals to work, I would've lost the little data I had." Finally, the vampire had enough and rose his hand up.

"Why don't we just split up then?" Now all eyes were latched to him in this chain of rotating gazes. With a calm shrug he explained. "We'll get to explore both caves at once instead of having to all pile in one and then double back if that one proves to be a dud."

"Well, I guess that would work. If one of us comes to a dead end, they can head back and go down the other way to meet us." Marshall spared no second, wrapping his arm around Fionna and lashing his finger out to the caves.

"Okay so, Fionna and Me..." Marshall's finger aimed at the left path, before swinging over to the right. "...and you and Cake." The feline slunk in between the vampire and her sister, stretching into his face so that their eyes inches away from one another.

"UH-UH! A'int no way I'm leaving Fionna alone with you in a cave. She's stayin' with yours truly thank you very much." With that suggestion in mind, the prince and king gazed at one another before their eyes flattened with reluctance. Gumball raised a finger as he droned.

"I doubt that Marshall and I would make a good pair." Marshall mimicked the prince.

"Likewise." Fionna smooth her chin as she thought.

"Well I mean I could go with Gumball, if that's alright..." Marshall's brows suddenly flew up at the thought of him and Cake as a team. In a group the two would always bicker and fire snarky remark after snarky remark, just imagine how crazy it would get with just them two? Marshall's next words launched like little loud rockets.

"And place me under verbal lockdown with Cake? Many thanks." In seconds Cake blew up into a much taller, more hostile form than before, her slitted eyes now practically buried against Marshall's.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" She hissed. Fionna leapt and grabbed her friend in an attempt to keep her under control. Despite the cat's "threatening" form and angry tone, Marshall spoke his mind with no bit of hesitation.

"It means I won't be able to say a word without you thinking its some sort of double meaning and freaking out on me like you always do!" Cake continued to growl at the vampire king despite having been calmed down to her original form by her sister. Fionna then turned back to Gumball for an opinion, and soon enough the cave was echoing with forethought, opinions, prediction and negotiation. The three voices spin in Marshall's head like the galling buzz of a hundred flies, and finally, the vampire king exploded.

"Glob guys! How hard is it to pick out a damn group?! I mean, am I really that bad of company?!" No one responded, all a little stunned at Marshall's reaction. With no one saying a word, the vampire threw his hands up and groaned. "You know what? Fine. I'll go by myself since you guys are so tightly knit. Let me know how it goes." The vampire spat as he slid in the air down the left corridor, fading into the darkness. The group gazed on into the shadows for a few moments, before being broken up by the prince.

"Well...I guess that settles that. Onward!" Gumball lobbed his arm forward for the rest to continue before moving along. Cake would follow closely, but Fionna stayed right where she was. Guilt had wrapped around her like an unwanted cardigan; her friend didn't deserve to trek the darkness alone, even if their last meeting was full of him being an extreme butt-guy. Feeling somewhat sure of her decision, she called out to her friends.

"Look guys, I'm gonna go this way and catch up with Marshall. He shouldn't be in this place alone." Cake spun around and whipped her arms skyward, rushing up to Fionna.

"Are you outta your mind, girl? You and Marshall alone doesn't spell good happenings with me. He kicked you square in the face last time you two were together, you remember? At Lump Space Prince's party?" Fionna frowned at the comment, remembering that it was really she who started the bout that night. Marshall's being blamed made her feel worse.

"Cake, don't worry. Marshall may act tough and bad but he's not one to hurt friends. You gotta trust him more than that." Cake's eyes danced from left to right like a game of pong before she finally sighed in acceptance.

"...Fine. But the MOMENT anything goes wrong you holler out and I will tackle that boy so hard, we'll make another fork in the cave!" Fionna chuckled knowing that her sister would do exactly that to any man who tried to hurt her. The image of Cake in "battering ram" mode laying the smack down on Marshall made her chuckle, but she kept herself serious and patted Cake on the head, ruffling up the fur.

"Don't worry, I will. But I'm pretty sure I'll beat you too it if he DOES try anything." Ending her joke with a wink, Fionna spun on her heel and rushed down towards the other side of the cave, her neon orange torch lighting the way towards her friend. Gumball, having watched the whole event silently, gave a concerned frown, unknowingly mirrored by Cake's own scowl. The cat tried to prevent her mind from thinking the worse by focusing in on the mission, quickly returning to Gumball's side as they journeyed on into their own black pathway.


	2. Chapter 2: Expressing Your Anger

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter contains an incredibly descriptive lemon as well as some foul language. If this is not your desired form of entertainment, please leave the story now or cease to read after the ~ sign. Thank you.**

Marshall had been staring at the ceiling for a while now, taking care to swerve out of the way of falling dust pockets. As he floated down the cavern with his back to the floor, he took some time to recollect on the recent happenings. Cake's harsh relentlessness made him feel all the more isolated, like uttering the words "Marshall Lee" was akin to the bitter pricking of sucking on a cut lemon. A melancholy sigh slid out from the vampire's lips, before a pair of fluffy rabbit ears plopped into his peripheral vision. Rolling over to his side, he met a soft pair of familiar light-blue eyes.

"Hey." The word practically squeaked out of Fionna's mouth, sprinkled with some strange mix of guilt and hope. Marshall was shocked at her sudden appearance, but in his typical fashion he shut away all hints of surprise and insecurity and allowed that mask of a confident grin to slither across his face.

"Hmph, I knew you'd pop up eventually." Fionna rolled her eyes at Marshall's schpeel. Leaning his head up he gazed down the path she had come down. "Gumball and Cake joining us?" The girl merely shook her head.

"Nope. Like you said, we should split up." She glanced at Marshall, his face glazed with a two-fanged grin of doubt. Fionna groaned. "...I told them to stay behind."

"Mmm, so I have you all to myself then..." Marshall's eyebrows wormed up and down to the rhythm of innuendo, falling on Fionna's deaf ears as she shook her head in annoyance. Marshall noticed this, his mouth drooping down as she walked past him. This passive aggressive behavior was really starting to irritate him, to the point that he contemplated confronting his friend right there. But, not being one to take things seriously, Marshall kept his cool and just went on his way.

"So...besides this little spelunking trip, what's been up with you? Haven't see you in a while." Fionna didn't look at him as she gave her answer.

"Been fine, not much to say besides a few run-ins with the Ice Queen, nothing special." Marshall poked his head out to try and catch Fionna's eye, only met with her turning it away so all he got was cheek and back. With this, he gave a heaving sigh.

"Fionna, what's going on? Why are you guys being so distant? I mean I get Bubba, its him and his mushed candy brain, but you and Cake? What's up?" Fionna kept her eyes firmly on the path, with deadpan worming its way into her reply.

"Nothing's wrong, Marshall..." The vampire was beginning to get annoyed, his nostrils flaring up as he gritted his teeth.

"So you're just not gonna look at or talk to me? Is that it?" He spat, squinting his eyes and crossing his arms. Fionna finally gave a light gaze in his direction, but took care to make sure she only saw cave wall.

"Depends if you keep asking questions." Marshall's mouth hung open slightly, before he finally came to a realization.

"...Is this about the night of the party?" No response came from the blonde adventurer, so Marshall decided to fill in the gap. "Fionna, I already apologized for that, several times in fact! I thought we were cool about-"

"Yeah, _you_ thought we were cool." Fionna cut in, the deadpan now slightly eroding with venomous ire. "You say everything's alright and it just magically happens, doesn't it?" Marshall rushed in front of Fionna, blocking her from marching any further. He was going to squash this right now.

"Gob Fionna, it was just a joke, a harmless prank? I mean c'mon, I do it all the time. Why out of everything that I've done is this one such a big issue?" He was met with a look of pure and utter disbelief, the girl's eyes half shut and mouth stuck open.

"Wow...if that's what you call a harmless prank I don't even want to know what your really capable of." Marshall's eyes cartwheeled in their sockets, played out with a deep groan.

"What is that supposed to mean? Just please, spit it out already!" He yelled, flailing his arms into the air. Fionna's face flushed with red in seconds, right before her blow up.

"Fine!" She shouted, shoving the vampire out of her way as she marched up, fists clenched and head down. "You wanna know why I'm so irked?! It's because when it comes down to it, you have absolutely zero care for anybody else's feelings, even your friends!" Marshall was taken aback.

"When we were in that graveyard and I had gotten Cake back...I saw you...and I...I thought I killed you. While you were laying their playing _possum_, I was sitting there thinking that I had just killed you! Do you know how I felt thinking that it was my fault, that I and no one else would never see you again because I pushed you down into that spear!?" Marshall was stunned, wordless and actually afraid. In all of the time he spent with Fionna, even those including her bouts with the Ice Queen, he never saw her this angry, this hurt.

"Fionna, I-I'm deathless, you know that..." The redness on Fionna's face slithered into her eyes.

"NOT WHEN YOU'RE CLUTCHING YOUR CHEST AND CURDLED ON THE GROUND! NOT WHEN YOU HAVE CREAMPUFF JELLY BURSTING FROM YOUR STOMACH LIKE BLOOD!" Fionna stomped up to Marshall, forcing the vampire back a few steps. He could see tears begin to envelop in her eyes, punching their way out of the ducts for a chance to spring free. "I'll tell you how I felt! For those few seconds I felt like I was the worst person to ever exist, worse than the Ice Queen! And with the sun surrounding us and the way you made it look, I felt helpless to even try and help you!" She got so close to Marshall that she almost rammed her forehead into his.

"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE THAT!" The vampire was getting aggravated, he understood that Fionna was angry, but this constant yelling was beginning to irritate him.

"Fionna, I apologized. What else can I do besides tha-" Fionna cut him off again, completing ignoring the vampire king's defense.

"And then, you decide to pull this whole romantic last words bunk-pile right in the middle of it all! Who does something like that? Why do you screw around with me that way!?" The tears were already running, burrowing into the dirt that lay under them.

"Fionn-" Her name was slashed with words a third time, only adding to Marshall's now growing annoyance.

"You know, sometimes Marshall, I just...I just...I just want to...PUNCH you SQUARE in the FACE! You make me so ANGRY!" Marshall had enough of this.

"Well then, why don't you just go ahead and do it!?" The vampire shuffled his axe-bass off of his shoulder, letting it fall into the ground. With his arms spread out and his chest exposed, he continued his tirade. "C'mon, sock me! Get all of your pent-up anger out right here and now!" Fionna was quiet, a tight look of shock and boiling rage plastered on her face. With no ensuing fists or words, Marshall let his hands flop down.

"You know, Fionna, if I make you so mad all the time, if I'm such a detrimental thing to your little happy-go-lucky outlook on life, why do you still hang out with me?! It would have been ten times simpler to just tell me to step off rather than give me this whole cold-shoulder spiced temper-tantrum! I'M SORRY, there three times I said it. But you know what, I'm not going to apologize for the fact that despite all the apparent aggravation I cause you, you always CRAWL BACK TO ME!"

Marshall's face ruptured as Fionna hammered her knuckle into his cheek, the pure force of it slapping the vampire into the wall. He didn't even have time to register what had happened before the fist's twin pounced out to him. His instincts flared and hyped up, the undead boy launched to the side, only missing the attack by centimeters. Rushing into the air, he watched Fionna charging towards him like a ravenous spider before he felt her hands clench the edges of his shirt. The girl sledged the vampire into the wall, letting the rocks drill into his back as she pounded him. In the struggle, Marshall managed to clasp down on Fionna's wrists, using his supernatural strength to pry them off. He then rushed his shoulder into Fionna's stomach, bashing into the opposite embankment, causing her to wail in sudden blunt pain. The combined pushing forces of their hands now misdirected, the two of them rocketed onto the ground, with Marshall on top of Fionna. They both clamored to get stable, but the vampire got their first, gripping Fionna's wrists once more and planting them into the ground. Utilizing the power he used to levitate, he clamped his knees down against Fionna's forcing them into the dirt with twice, maybe three-times her weight.

"STOP, FIONNA!" The girl howled and raved, trying to rip her limbs from submission in her blind rage. Marshall cried out once more. "STOP IT! STOP, IT!" With not even an inch moved from under Marshall's inhuman force, Fionna finally stopped her wriggling, panting deep, harsh whips of air as she glared to him. The bangs that escaped her hood in the confusion flew up and down as she breathed, almost slapping Marshall's nose in the process.

The two's sharp stares pounded against one another, the both of their teeth bared out in de-simmering rage as they panted. Marshall kept the grip firm for a few moments, letting the girl's spitting of harsh air slowly muzzle down to silence. On in this moment did he realize just how close he was to Fionna, their foreheads, noses, and lips only a lean away from touching. Keeping his eyes on her own, Marshall began to slowly loosen his grip, his pinky finger being the last appendage to unwrap from around the heroine's wrist.

She swiped both hands out from under the shadow of the vampire's own, clenching them around the back of his neck and shoulder. Marshall expected a sound wrenching of the throat or a jackhammered knee into the stomach...but all he got was a hard, deep, torrid kiss.

Fionna's hands were chains around the vampire, holding him firmly in place as she let her tongue explore the inside of his mouth. It desperately searched for Marshall's, seeking a partner to dance with in this sudden burst of repressed, over-boiled passion. The boy had absolutely no idea what to do, firstly panicking at the unexpected move and struggling to get out of it. But Fionna's hunger was deeply infectious as soon enough, Marshall's hands fluttered down from the air, and curled up against Fionna's cheek.

They knew what they wanted to do...

Fionna lashed her hand up through the bottom of Marshall's shirt, running her fingers and palm across his body. It was very cool, like touching a smooth opal stone left to shiver in the darkness. Seconds later, she clasped her hands around the shirt and flied it up and over his head. The vampire king was lean and built more in the abs, his arms and shoulders lankier than the rest of his body. But Fionna didn't care, taking in the sight as Marshall began his own clothing conquest.

Passion whispered in his ear the steps he should take, pushing the undead boy down to Fionna's neck. Using his fangs, he slid his fang through the clasp that held the rabbit hood snug, unlatching with a small twist of the teeth. He slid it off with his free hand, and with her neck and face bare, let his slithery tongue glide up and down the nape. Fionna shivered, clutching her hand to Marshall's back as he worked.

Marshall was blind, deaf, and dumb with lust thanks to Fionna, ravaging her neck with his blunter teeth as his hands raced down to her pants. Her mind partially lost in ecstasy, a sudden wave of rational thought flew in at this most irrational of times. She had never done this before, she didn't know what it felt like! What if Marshall was too rough, what if it hurt, why in a cave of all places? Why the hell were they making out after she had just socked him in the face!? Why was this happening!?

Her arm began to make its way to his chest once more, only this time keen on backing him down. Unfortunately, or rather not, Marshall's hands were a little faster, having already unzipped and slithered down into her pants. After wriggling through her silky white underwear, Marshall's fingers slipped into her, and all of the worry, anxiety and questions dissolved into contemplative smoke. She gasped loudly, the vampire's cold fingers rousing her insides like a mixing bowl.

She felt creamy, like running his fingers through a gleaming, invisible pool of honey. Loving the sensation on his swishing fingers, Marshall slid them in and out, each time pulsing in the chill that caused Fionna's knees to cringe. Before long, the vampire's fingers could no longer block the fluid as it began to overflow and gush. With that, he removed his hand and kneeled up, glancing over the heroine as he began to unbutton his pants. This was the most vulnerable he had ever seen Fionna, he thought: exposed, open, and near-full red with pleasure. Gazing at her in full only made him more flustered, the juice from his previous act making the bronze button almost impossible to grasp. But tenacity always wins out, as soon the button and zipper were unfastened and he slid the pair down only to his knees, not wanting to deal with the risk of entanglement at the shoe.

Marshall curled his thumb her Fionna's shirt, followed by the rest of his hand as he repeated his act of worming through her under-bra. GOB she felt so soft! The vampire held on to her breast as he used his other hand to space out her thighs, inching closer and closer as Fionna's eyes clenched. She didn't know what to expect, so like with all the sudden, potential dangers encountered before this point, she braced herself. The vampire king held her thighs open using his own, using his now free hand to caress and aim his member, before finally pushing himself in.

Fionna clutched Marshall's back and neck in utter shock, letting out a harsh squeal as he rocked himself inside. They both knew that it hurt, so Marshall begrudgingly kept himself at a slow pace until Fionna's body could finally mold and accept this new experience. The sensation forced the heroine to latch onto the vampire in anyway she could: wrapping her legs around him, pushing his body down into her's and forcing him to take nasal breaths as she occupied his mouth with her tongue.

In time it began to speed up, the true deeper passion and emotion finally getting the chance to puppet their movements. Marshall's long-time yearning relished in the moment, taking every rush against the girl's insides as a reward for his patience and effort. Meanwhile, Fionna let nothing hold him back as the vampire king took in all the pleasure and forcefully ceased her womanhood. She had denied her feelings for Marshall for years, chocking it up to just being the aftereffect of Gumball's many rejections. Even though Marshall was senseless in most of his actions, he was always there when Fionna needed him. When she just wanted to hang, required help on a mission or adventure, or actually needed a legitimate shoulder to cry on, the vampire king was there, lurking in the shadows like the nut he was. But this wasn't a reward for all the times he had pulled through, this was something she wanted as well. She just didn't know it until they finally broke each other down to the raw, angry core.

Marshall could feel himself starting to boil, the sensation culminating in both heads as he fired in and out of the girl. Fionna had been in a cradle of pleasure since the beginning, building up over the time Marshall had fucked her. Yeah, it wasn't thrusting anymore, it was blatant fucking. The vampire's fist curled harshly into itself as he grow closer, but then, unexpectedly, Fionna wrapped her own mitt around his, interlocking their fingers with the near-crushing force of approaching climax.

"Fiona, I-I'm gonna! Mmmph." Marshall couldn't control it anymore; unable to even form a coherent sentence anymore, he just pounded into her with every last bit of energy he had. The girl below him cringed and spread as the ultimate feeling shot into her, forcing her to scream in ways she never heard herself scream before! It was coming; there was no stopping it now; everything had built up to this mind-blowing, volatile moment! Fionna threw her head back and screamed!

"MARSHALL!"


	3. Chapter 3: He Says He's Evil

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long updates, college and finals just wrapped up so now I'm finally free to write :) Hope you guys enjoy this, it's a shorter chapter but I'm hoping the confrontations and emotions are juicy enough for you.

...

Echoed grunts of effort played bass to the overpowering sound of some heavy object dragging through the dirt. Nearing the cave entrance, the sound grew louder and lessened in reverb. Finally, the source of the commotion rushed out of the rocky maw; Prince Gumball and Cake marching out with two humongous bags, filled to the brim with mounds of red crystal. As they finally reached the cooling shade of the trees, Gumball plopped the sack of gems down and howled out in exhaustion.

"HUH...HUH...I think I may...have bought a little too much back." Cake, having taken on a muscular, olympian form to make the trek easier, followed behind the prince with her own massive bag in tow. The cat stopped beside the exhausted royalty, reaching down and picking up the bag he had let fall.

"I can carry the both of them for a lil' bit if you need'a rest, Prince." Gumball defyingly waved his hand.

"Oh no, Cake. I don't want you stress yourself. I'll rest while we wait for Fionna and Marshall, I should be right as rain by then." The candy prince slumped down onto his rear, turning to face the mouth of the cave. Placing her bag down beside the Gumball's, Cake shrunk back down to normal size and took a seat beside him. The second she planted herself, Gumball turned to her, a look of concern splayed on his face.

"Cake...what exactly _is _going on between you, Fionna and Marshall?" Cake glanced up at him before letting her eyes tumble and circle in slight annoyance.

"Just one of that boy's idiot antics...went way too far this time. Fionna's giving herself some space from him, and by my account, it's for the best."

"Oh?" Gumball let slip. Cake gave him a small look before returning to the cave.

"That Marshall doesn't sit right with me. He never did. He's just so-

"Immature..." Gumball stamped his own ending to Cake's sentence, to which the cat glanced over at him, a tad puzzled. The prince's words sounded...regretful, disappointed even. However, Cake overlooked this detail, focusing on Marshall's literal dangers rather than his...developmental ones.

"I was gonna say dangerous..." Gumball gazed on, deep into the cave mouth. He had been thinking of a different time between him and Marshall, a time long since past when he could actually enjoy the vampire's crude humor and juvenile nature. Cake turned away, slightly irked by the prince's sudden change in tone and attitude. Her slight tirade continued.

"Vampire's eat people, plain and simple. They hypnotize them with all of their smooth, cool acts and once they have them alone, they plunge right in!"

"Well I mean, have you ever met another vampire that's actually done something like that?" Cake's face froze.

"Uh...well no, it's all stuff I read in old books and stories I've heard from people." Searching desperately for a point to back her argument, she decided to run up one of Marshall's other negative aspects. "And even if what I've heard isn't valid, he's still violent and inconsiderate. The two of them fought at Lumpy Space Prince's party, kicking and punching during my solo. When it comes down to it, he's just not a good influence on her."

"Hmm, I'm inclined to agree...but Marshall's been this way for years, it's practically carved into his very being at this point. I actually think he can't change, even if he wanted too. It's really sad...its a waste of a good person..." Cake scoffed at the prince's words.

"Even if he did change, that doesn't mean I'm just gonna suddenly roll over and-" Footsteps startled the rest of Cake's sentence back into her mouth. From the darkness emerged both of their lost friends, a thin pastel layer of red dust still on their clothes. The both of them dared not look at one another, keeping their eyes straight and firm towards the other two. Cake leapt up and scurried up to her sister.

"What took you guys so long, you couldn't have gone that deep?" Twin blushes raved into both Fionna and Marshall's cheeks, the vampire quickly turning his gaze to the sky. Wiping her still messy bangs out of her eyes, the girl tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Sorry Cake, w-we got lost. Turns out it wasn't a straight shot in, there were so many turns and corners..." Marshall kept quiet and seemingly oblivious. "I'm surprised we got out this fast..." The cat's face remained pursed, her eyes full of doubt and suspicion. In her mind a mountain of questions began to erupt, priming themselves for launch the minute they got home.

"Hmph." The cat hissed out. Prince Gumball climbed to his feet before wrapping his arms around the sack of gems. Lobbing it over his shoulder, Fionna swooped in and took the place of Cake for carrier of the second bag. As they start their trot towards the kingdom walls, Marshall slowly floated away.

"Well, I'm going to be out guys. I-I've got some stuff I need to work on, songs and what not." They all turned slight to him, but only Gumball would speak.

"Well okay then, safe trips Marshall." The prince and the cat then continued their march, but Fionna lingered behind, her gaze bonded tightly with the vampire's. As they kept their glance feelings of longing, fear and regret emanated from the two of them as they contemplated the same exact worries. What would happen in Cake and Gumball found out? What would they think? What would all of Aaa think?!

Before she could be overtaken by dread, Fionna ripped herself away from the vampire's sight, rushing out after her companions. With only the wind for company, Marshall gave a deep sigh and lifted himself up into the sky, making sure to stay shaded by the umbrella of clouds. In this moment, he took the time to reflect back on what he had done...

Well, it wasn't really his fault. Fionna was the one who initiated the kiss. But...he had pinned her down to the floor. But that was only to keep her from freaking out! This, this wasn't supposed to happen...but...at the same time, he was happy it did. The circumstances were absolutely horrid in terms of timing and nature, but still...Fionna was always...attractive in his eyes, very attractive he'd even say. That night in the graveyard Marshall had gained immense respect for her honesty and genuine care, and it was the first time he was put in a situation out of his control. There was no witty comebacks, no playful condescending, no cocky sense of invulnerability...just tears, shock and honesty.

But now...what they did...Marshall searched desperately for a reason as to why it happened this way. There's a set routine for this kind of stuff! You ask someone out, you date, you love, and then you do things, you don't just jump the Gobdamn gun and dive into it!

Marshall stressfully stroked his forehead; he had to talk to Fionna about this, face to face, find out where things stood between them. He needed to do it and he needed to do it as soon as possible, before Cake manages to grate and grill the truth out of her. Fionna was a good liar but not to her own sister; she would crack like an spoon-beaten egg. Unfortunately, he knew a sudden reappearance would raise questions on all fronts, so the vampire king begrudgingly kept on the aerial path home.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Fionna slumped on the couch the second she made it through the door. Exhaustion on both physical and emotional fronts weighed her down, but the crippling pain in her abdomen was what kept her slouched on the seat. She knew exactly why the hurt was there, but the whole way back she chocked it up to a stomach bug or cramps, hoping Cake would think nothing of it. But in the back of her mind she knew that soon, the cat would emerge through that door, her suspicions well-simmered and questions primed and ready.

Soon enough, paws strolled through the entryway, before a slow, ominous shutting of the door gave intro to the inevitable confrontation.

"Okay...spill it." The cat simply said, arms crossed and eyes locked on the heroine. Fionna knew that any of sort denial or fabrications would be pointless, but she was still desperate enough to try it.

"What?" The blonde said, trying her hardest to sound oblivious and innocent. The cat was not having any of it, marching over with tightened fists as she continued her grilling.

"Don't 'what' me, Fionna...that's going to make me think of worse things than I already have. What happened in that cave?" The bunny-hatted girl kept silent, sweat fountaining out from the sides of her head as she stiffened up in the chair. Cake's eyes began to slither into themselves, forming sharpened beads as she kept on. "You and Marshall were so desperate to keep off eye contact, you didn't even say one word to each other. On top of that, the two of you were redder than bloopin' Gumball!" Fionna cowered back into the sofa, almost shivering as she desperately tried to clench her mouth. Unfortunately, tears still made their way out, and soon Fionna broke down.

"I just...I don't know how it happened. First I was angry, then I was...I punched him in the face and I...he held me down and we..." Every sentence's end was sliced away by sobs, setting the stage for Cake's overreaction to rear its ugly head.

"Held you down! Did that little grey SCU...I CAN'T EVEN...THAT'S IT, I'M KILLIN' HIM! He's DEAD!" Hurriedly spinning on her heel, Cake marched out towards the door, her regularly-noodled arms blasting out into massive muscles. Fionna's eyes widened, she knew Cake would hunt Marshall down and tear him to pieces.

"No Cake, wait!" She lunged out to her sister, tackling her to the ground. Cake threw her a look of confusion. "It wasn't like that...I just..." Fionna sighed, wiping away her tears and bringing herself to he calmest the circumstances would allow. Taking a deep breath she continued. "It-It was both our faults...we were arguing in the cave and...I don't know, I can't explain it..." The cat was stunned.

"So what I THINK happened...did happen..." Cake's eyes drooped down in silence, before dragging herself over to the couch and plopping down onto it. She was at a loss for words, simply cradling her forehead in her paw as she tried to process this...keyword being try. Fionna just fell to her knees, a look of disappointment and regret towards herself morphing onto her face.

"But...all that stuff I told you, the tiers...the TIERS Fionna." Cake scolded as she pointed towards her left arm, now in the shape of stairs. Her finger waved over the ten to twelfth step area, so this was a big issue. Cradling her knees Fionna just looked down, hiding away her dark, tearful eyes. Letting her arm collapse to the sofa, Cake let out the deepest of groans. "You know...I figured I would've been more prepared for this."

Fionna felt horrid, like absolute trash. Cake's apparent disappointment stabbed into her in the heart, letting her shrivel back into a broken mess.

"Do you love him?" The question sparked up Fionna's gaze, catching full sight of Cake's worried but stern look. The blonde sighed.

"I don't know...I-I like when he's around...but I mean...Uhhhhh!" Fionna stretched out her fake bunny ears in anger. Why couldn't she give a straight answer? All this uncertainty and confusion had her bouncing from one opinion to another on Marshall. On one hand, the vampire was comical, light and knew how to ease tensions with his signature wit and style. At the same time, he could easily fire the tension right back in, not knowing when to stop with his act and very rarely showing signs of maturity or growth past his juvenile sense of life. Cake pushed herself off of the couch and walked up to Fionna, taking a strong, authoritative stance above her.

"This is something that you do with someone you love, Fionna. Its not just some hop up and go like a kiss. You know how Marshall acts and how the most of us feel about him. What if he just took advantage the situation, and of you?!" Fionna's eyes beaded; Marshall couldn't be so scummy, he wouldn't stoop that low. He flirted and toyed with her at times yes...but that's just...evil...

But...Marshall was evil, he insisted upon it...but, would he...

Fionna collapsed onto the floor, her preserved dam of emotional resilience crumbling to dust. She didn't believe the notion, but the thought of it possibly being true wrenched and twisted her heart. Cake knelt down as the tears fell, taking her sister in her arms. Letting Fionna release the grief, Cake could only think of one thing and one thing only:

Keeping Marshall Lee as far away from Fionna as possible. That selfish, manipulating gumshoe of a vampire was never going to see, talk, or know about Fionna for the next thousand years-or however the heck long he lives.


	4. Chapter 4: Writer's Block

Marshall often basked in a stream of inspiration for music, flipping up poetic words and able to easily mold them into touching, emotion-riling lyrics. But for some reason, a tree of mental block collapsed and backed up the river; he was at a complete loss. He had been floating around his room for hours, notepad and pen resting on his stomach, waiting for a spark to come and fill the pages with art. Tired of seeing his closet wave by for the one-hundred sixty-eighth time, he groaned and collapsed onto his bed, stuffing the pillow over his face to muffle the howl.

"What the butt is wrong with me today?!" The vampire shouted to himself. Letting the pillow rest atop him he lay limp, frustrated seemingly with the lack of fruitful song writing. Of course, deep down, he knew damn well what it was. This heavy feeling inside was a massive boulder, barring him from the completion of a very important task: the creation of a new setlist for his band to play at their latest concert. Groaning from the stress the vampire king rose up, angrily punching the innocent pillow off of him. "What! Just because of Fionna, I have to just put my whole life on hold!?" Panting turned to sighing, and sighing turned to exhausted silence. Marshall cupped his head into his hands, desperate for alleviation from this...haunting.

Suddenly, a hard pounding on his door shook him back. A nervous wave came slithering into him, only to be peeled back away once a familiar voice was heard.

"Hey Marshall! You okay in there man?" It was Grissom, thank Gob. Marshall flew over to the door and let it open only a crack. Through it he could see his bandmate: a green-skinned fellow in punk rock garbs with a down-swoop haircut to top it off. Hoping to shoo his friend away indirectly, the vampire nodded his head.

"Hey,Griss. Sorry about that, I'm just having some writer's block. I guess its getting to me, heh." Griss' brow floated upward.

"Really? That's kinda surprising; you were able to crank out our last setlist in a night." Griss stroked his chin, thinking of possible explanations that Marshall knew would all be false. "Do you know exactly what the problem is?" Lee fibbed and shrugged.

"It's like...I know I can come up with lyrics and words in no time...I just don't know what I should d-...want to write about." Griss may appear like a dense metalhead, but he knows confusion and worry when he sees it. Pushing the door open the rest of the way, the bandmate spoke.

"Is something...bothering you, Marshall? You know, we're not just drum and bass machines. You can talk to us too." The both of them chuckled, Marshall welcoming the lightening of the mood. Wiping one of his bed-head bangs out of his eyes, he sighed.

"Just a...personal issue with a...friend of mine." Griss noticed the purposeful vagueness of the description, a sign not to pry or prod. Raising his hands up in a surrendering fashion, the punk rocker leaned off.

"Alright, I hear ya. I'll leave that to you, good sir." With that, the guitarist began to step away, leaving Marshall to shut the door...or at least attempt too.

"You know, maybe you should write a song about the thing thats bothering you. With like maybe the person who needs to hear it...will." The vampire king squinted his eyes through the door crack, seeing the hopeful face of his friend for a moment before he continued off. Closing and locking the door, Marshall gave thought to his friend's advice.

If he couldn't reach Fionna directly because of Cake or her own reasons, maybe a literary middleman could work. So many different emotions, phases, ways the whole thing could go, for better and worse...Marshall's brain flooded with ideas, the familiar rush of inspiration spreading a grin across his face. He grasped his pen and started to ink down the entirety of his thoughts. One way or another, he was going to let Fionna know just exactly was going through his head.

Well...okay maybe not everything...

...

Fionna had spent the past few days in her room, curled into a small tired ball of confusion. Her mind was spread out way to thin in all different directions. But they all had one common element: Marshall Lee. She hated herself for what she did, but she also hated him for not stopping it, for making her so mad that she socked him. She hated him even for his unproven deeds of using her for a quick boink, how dare he do that do anyone, especially her?

At the same time, she was glad it was especially her. In those moments they spent, Fionna knew that she didn't want to stop, even with logic and reason trying to batter her back into a respectable position. She enjoyed making Marshall feel that way...

When it came down to it, Fionna narrowed down her position on the vampire. "He's hot, he's a cool person to be around when its not serious, and he knows how to...overpower me." She tried to avoid certain senses of that term, but it didn't stop her from blushing hard. "At the same time, he's inconsiderate, he's mean to certain people, and he's...well a vampire. That's got to play a role somewhere in this." Fionna groaned, pulling the bunny hat completely over her head in frustration. Then she wondered, what would Marshall be doing right now? Is he thinking of these same things? He would have to be, right? She couldn't be trapped alone under this mountain of questions...

"I need to talk to him." She thought, quickly unraveling from the quilt cocoon she had made for herself. Her bare feet found their way to the floor, helping her travel out towards the open window. Good thing the window banister was high, otherwise the world would be treated to the sight of the heroine in only her blue t-shirt and black panties. She looked out towards the northeast, the direction of Marshall's house, and began to plan how she would be able to gain audience with him.

"I can't just shotgun it to his house, Cake would just go all zilla and catch up with me in a second. I can't sneak out because that would require me going outside, in the dark, with no light. I'd be bear chow in seconds, or hacked up by undead skeletons...they come out on tuesdays right?" Fionna shook her head wildly, trying desperate to get back on track.

"Maybe some sort of signal? A flashlight...or a smoke? Could I use BMO? Nah, BMO is beans at keeping secrets." The blonde girl groaned, letting her hand mush into her cheek as she looked out to the sun. "I wish this didn't happen. I wish Gumball never showed us that stupid red crystal and brought into that cave. If we avoided this, I'd have probably gotten over the stupid graveyard incident and Marshall and I would be paling around at the mountains or something."

OW! A sharp point pricked right into Fionna's bare bottom cheek. She spun her head to see what it was; a paper plane with a bent nose lay at her heel, no doubt caused by the impact with her rear. Fionna wondered how it got their, quickly picking it up and inspecting it. The paper was commercial and colored darkly, black spaces and thin purple lines making the majority of the design. Her curiosity peaking she quickly unfolded it and read.

"The Annual Aaa Festivus?" The paper held the illustration of a carnival-like event, complete with games, rides, tents and a large concert stage in the center of it all. The paper's arrival, both style and timing, was just too perfect. Fionna rushed out to every open window in her room, lashing her gaze out and across every which way for any sign of either the vampire, or some other intruder.

When no one was discovered, Fionna just decided to read on, learning that it would occur a five days from this day and that...Marshall Lee's band would be one of the main acts on stage. Right at the bottom in big bolded blue letters read "Marshall's Lee and the Kings of Scream" with some other lesser bands printed right below them. This was her chance, if she could convince Cake to let her go, she'd have her chance to confront the vampire. The constant dread and drear that had loomed over Fionna lifted up a tad; things had finally gone in her favor.

Now, there was the hard part...getting Cake to let her go without letting her know of Marshall's presence...

All of the possibilities from before repeat themselves, each one thwarted by their countering measure. Fionna groaned, her brain feeling overstretched in its wrapping around the problem. Finally, she turned and leaned against the window sill, a look of seriousness spread across her face. The most drastic of ways had wormed into her brain, but at this point it seemed to be the only way she'd make it out.

She'd have to sneak out, right before night time so as not to be caught in dwelling claws of the dark.

She rushed off of her seat on the banister, shooting towards her dresser and ripping one of the drawers open. Whipping out a marker and paper, she kicked it closed with the heel of her foot, leapt onto her bed, and began to scribble. Eventually, Cake was going to find out and come after her, whether she gave it a straight shot or snuck out. Might as well, try to make her see a reason as to why...

…

The rapid, whipping sound of ink against paper had been hissing from Marshall's room for the past four or five hours. Hovering over his bed, the vampire had outlined his bed with lyric pages, four piles of be exact with each one being its own song. Griss was an absolute genius; the key to fruitful, honest writing was to tell of the feelings of something you never had gotten to before. It was such a rush, the words were piling up behind Marshall's hand, itching to splash out onto the paper. As the vampire had finished stamping a period at the end of his final song's verse, a knock rung on his door. Tossing the page behind the rest, the vampire flew over to it, squeezing a look through the cracks.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"It's Ash, Marshall, you should recognize my knock already. Griss and Jame wanted to know how the songwriting is going. They're almost done writing the music for the ones you already gave us." Marshall turned back to his lyrical collection, giving a bit of a smirk at himself.

"It's...it's going good, actually. Already got like, five new ones ready. Guess I got my niche back." Marshall blushed at himself.

"Really? Mind if I see?" The girl practically squeaked from the other side. The vampire king was hesitant, he still wanted to fine tune his work, rearrange some cutoffs and change some of the working. I guess it wouldn't be bad having her look them over, a critique would be nice.

"Yeah sure, hold on." He replied. Unlocking and sliding his door open, before him stood his band's second guitarist. He said second because they would often juggle the roles of rhythm and lead during their sets. Ash was clad in a strapless green dress with a shortened skirt, black knee-high boots, and her white hair wrapped up in a pony tail, no doubt her outfit of choice for the event.

Why she was wearing it now Marshall didn't know, it seemed like a needless second wash before the big concert. The girl led herself into the room, flashing Marshall a smirk before leaping onto his bed. Angling to the side that overshadowed the mound of paper, she took a random one and gawked. As she read Marshall slunk over, laying on the carper beside his work in a relaxed position.

"So...what you think so far." As the witchy girl read on, she giggled. No words, just small sweet laughs. "What?" The vampire king asked.

"Gob, this stuff sounds so full of mush and gush." Ash let out in between snickers. "I didn't take you for a 'love song guy' Marshall. Would have been nice if you wrote one for me." A smirk and a wink followed the girl's words. Marshall rolled his eyes, his mind dragged back to the reminder of his and the girls' previously failed relationship. Ash was a party girl: reckless, impulsive, and somewhat selfish. Seemed like a perfect match to Marshall's own little attitude, but alas it was not meant to be, on his part at least.

Flipping the page over, Ash began to slowly hover across the room, reading the words out loud. "I can't feel this way, I can't feel the same about you, anymore." For some reason, hearing his work read aloud irked Marshall, making his teeth grind a tad as Ash spoke. Once she had finished, she had found herself laying beside the vampire king. "You know, this sounds very heartfelt, Marsh. Whose it for?" The witch said, giving him a slight nudge to the shoulder. Trying to avoid eye-contact, Marshall landed his arm behind his head as a makeshift pillow, staring at the ceiling.

"Who said it was 'for' anybody?" Ash flashed a grin, letting the paper fall back atop the rest of the pile. But she didn't stop, letting her fingers float towards the vampire's neck. Letting them glide and circle around his vampiric holes, she continued.

"C'mon, Marsh. You don't have to play mind-gaming renegade with me. I broke through that little facade once before, didn't I?" Her hands had slithered away from his neck, moving to stroking the top of his shirt. As she did this, she leaned her head against the vampire king's. While Marshall tried his best to ignore this, Ash's hair _was_ cotton soft; he couldn't help but find a bit of comfort in it. Finally, he sighed and let his head crank over, meeting Ashley's jade-eyed gaze. It was a false innocence, a kind of cutesy-eye frontage that Ash had used multiple times before.

"You know, Griss and Jame are gonna be busy working on their melodies if I give them these songs now..." Fingers wormed their way through the buttons on Lee's shirt, rubbing lightly across his chest. She pushed into Marshall's neck, letting the breath from her words warm the nape. "You wanna have some fun?" With that, Ash let her lips fly, planting a gentle, yet alluring kiss on his skin. While Ash had occupied Marshall's right hand, his left was slowly crumpling into a frustrated fist.

Under normal circumstances, while the two of them had broken up, Marshall was still a guy, and guy liked things girls had. Ashley was perfectly willing to give him those things, as demonstrated by what she was currently doing, and at times, Marshall would indulge in her generosity. But these were different times, times full of conflicted hearts and confusion of the mind. Marshall was stuck in between a rock and a, regrettably self-inflicted hard place. He now knew why Ash had worn that dress today, and truthfully, she looked stunning and sensual in it. The skirt was cut right at the thigh, letting the vampire get a nice view of her full, slender legs. The top was no disappointment either, parading the witch girl's cleavage with no form of resistance.

But despite it all, he couldn't do this with Ash, not with these mixed feelings for Fionna and the current need to find out where they had stood.

At this point, Ashley's hand was already elbow deep into Marshall's shirt, her other one stroking the vampire's cheek. She pushed her body up against his, letting her chest glide and rub against the boy's arm. At the corner of his eye he could see the clothing's hold at her breast begin to loosen, so he quickly grabbed the hand floating around his maw.

"I'm sorry, Ash...not now. As much as I do want to...I'm admittedly on a roll with these songs and we've only got a few days till the Festivus." Marshall braced for a frown, but instead was met with another one of the girl's mischievous smirks. She slowly let her hand exit out of the shirt's opening, but quickly re-trapped the vampire, lobbing her booted leg across the vampire's waist. With this support she pushed up and mounted him, their lower torsos practically grinding against one another.

"C'mon, Marshall. You already have 75% of the work done right next to you." Marshall was getting nervous, seeing the girls hands begin to snake behind her, no doubt getting ready to unclasp her dress. "You can afford to take a break for a few minutes...maybe an hour or two." Just as he predicted, the dress soon collapsed, dragging down the girl's shoulders and revealing her chest. Loosely supported by a purposefully skimpy black bra, she gave her body a light shake, letting the 'girls' so a little dance for Marshall. The vampire's mind and body grappled with one another: Ash was good at what she did, masterful to say the least...but...Fionna...Marshall couldn't just let this happen. It was disrespectful and scummy...it was...evil...

But, Marshall was evil...wasn't he?


End file.
